Bradley: Francisco Cervelli longs to return to the Bronx

Yasmeen SmalleyFrancisco Cervelli spent two seasons with Yankees before being sent down to Triple-A at start of season

ROCHESTER, N.Y. — Was it his good looks? Was it his knack for getting big base hits? Or was it his brash style, which may have rubbed some opponents the wrong way, but prompted him to shake his head and say, when asked if he’d tone it down:

“That’s Cervelli.”

Whatever it was about catcher Francisco Cervelli, he became a cult hero among Yankee fans during parts of seasons from 2009-2011. So when he was shipped back to Triple A on the eve of this season, in favor of Chris Stewart, there were some bad feelings.

Fans took to Twitter, message boards and sports radio to let their feelings be known.

Cervelli’s initial response was not positive, as he reported to Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre (the team that’s playing without a home field this season as its home stadium is being renovated) disgruntled, and proceeded to hit just .200 in April.

“There was so much frustration at first,” Cervelli said. “I felt like I belonged in the big leagues and I had to let them know. It was a bad way to begin the year, but I learned.”

Since then, he has picked it up a bit, he says, more in terms of his attitude than his statistics. The 26-year-old Venezuelan catcher is hitting .244 with two home runs and 30 RBI this season.

“I’m playing good baseball now,” Cervelli said. “And I’ll be ready if they call me. I’ve made it up in my mind that it doesn’t matter if it’s in Japan, Venezuela, it’s still baseball and you need to play hard, you need to play the same way. I’m doing that now.”

Asked if he thought his major-league future would be in New York, Cervelli said, “I don’t know. I’ve always got my mind with the Yankees. But I don’t know what’s going to happen. I don’t know what’s going to happen in the next minute, so I can’t worry. This is a business and I’m here today and I could be somewhere else tomorrow.”

Getting sent down to Triple A would be difficult enough for a player who put up solid numbers in his last two big-league seasons — Cervelli hit .271 in 93 games in 2010 and .266 in 43 games in 2011 — but given the Yankees’ Triple-A affiliate this year is playing its entire season on the road, it became even more difficult.

As a member of the team that’s now known as the Empire State Yankees, Cervelli is living out of a suitcase, trying to figure out ways to eat healthy meals, all while trying to prove to the Yankee brass he belongs in New York.

“A big part of my frustration in April was because of this situation,” Cervelli admitted. “No home. No privacy. No apartment. Just hotels everywhere. But I’ve forgotten about that now. I’m trying to enjoy every moment I get to wear a uniform and play baseball. I’ve really started to realize how blessed we are to play a game for a living. I have a job. I have a family. I’m healthy. And every day I try to learn something new and appreciate life in different ways.

“This is not the worst thing ever. When I first started playing professionally, it was in the Dominican in 2003, when I was 17. I went to bed hungry. So, this isn’t bad. I’ve been through tougher times in my life. But I always had a dream, to play in the big leagues and to be one of the best catchers. That’s still my dream.”

A month ago, Cervelli said a couple of his cousins passed away back home, and that changed his thinking.

“I’m lucky,” he said. “I’ve got my mom, my dad, my sister. I play baseball. And this won’t be forever. I believe in myself. I’ll be back in the big leagues.”

Asked what he misses the most about playing in New York, Cervelli doesn’t hesitate.

“The fans,” he said. “They were unbelievable for me. I have tried to say ‘Thank you’ so many times. People have sent me notes on Twitter, and I get letters in the mail. Even here, everywhere I go, the support is amazing. That makes me want to get back to New York. I want to show them that all the support they’ve given me will help me to get back there.”

Q&A

JOHN MAINE
RHP, Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Yankees, on trying to make it back to the big leagues

How are you feeling? How is the comeback coming along?
I’m not hurting. But it’s a continuing work in progress.
What’s been the toughest part about coming back after missing
nearly two years?
Breaking bad habits from when I was hurt. I tried different mechanical things when I was hurt, and some of those created habits that have been hard to break. But it will come. I just need to keep pitching, but I’m confident it’ll come.

Did you think
you were done?
Yeah, I think everyone has those thoughts. It was two years of being hurt and I was fed up with working so hard and not being able to go out and throw in games. It was frustrating. But in the end, I think I just need to let my arm rest.
Who motivated you to keep going?
My wife. Once I started throwing again without pain she said, “You owe it to yourself to give it another shot. Try it one more time and if it still hurts, then it’s not meant to be. But if it feels good, who knows how much longer you can pitch?” Her encouragement helped.

What would you do if you couldn’t pitch?
I wasn’t going there yet. It was too soon
to go there.

Have you gotten your velocity back?
It’s getting there. I’m sure I’m a couple of miles per hour off from where I was at my peak, but I think the biggest thing is just breaking the bad mechanical habits I got into. But the more I throw, the biggest thing I notice is how much my off-speed stuff is improving. The difference from my first start, a month ago,
to now is big.

Did you go around showcasing yourself to a lot of teams
I did and that’s what hurt me last year. In January, I was throwing for teams and I really wasn’t supposed to be pitching until June or July. That’s what hurt me last year.

JERSEY STRONG

Ryan Kalish, OF, 6-0, 215 | Red Bank Catholic H.S. (Shrewsbury)

After a three-week stint with the Red Sox, where he went 13-for-60, Kalish found himself back in Triple A just before the All-Star break. He promptly injured his knee crashing into a wall in Pawtucket and missed a week of action. This brought back memories of last season, when he injured his left shoulder making a diving catch. “He is such an aggressive, high-energy player, you just hope these types of injuries don’t keep happening to him,” said one AL scout. “Missing almost all of last season has set him back a bit as a hitter. He needs to develop a better understanding of the strike zone.”

ON THE RADAR

YANKEES

at MARINERS

Monday-Wednesday

Maybe you can’t go home again. Alex Rodriguez has a .162 average with no homers and five RBI in his last 19 visits to Seattle. He hasn’t homered at Safeco Field since Aug. 22, 2006.

Derek Jeter may have some success this week. He has a .324 average in his last 26 games in Seattle, managing at least one hit in all but two of those contests. He’s also batting .455
(20-for-44) with 10 runs in 10 meetings with the Red Sox.

vs. RED SOX

Friday-Sunday

Mark Teixeira has some homework to do against the Red Sox, as he was just
5 for 27 (.185) with five RBI in eight Stadium meetings with Boston last year.

METS

vs. NATIONALS

Monday-Wednesday

David Wright is hitting .391 with five homers and 12 RBI in his last 17 meetings with the Nationals, and that includes going 7-for-13 with three homers while plating six runs in last week’s series.

at DIAMONDBACKS

Thursday-Sunday

Wright hasn’t been nearly as productive in Phoenix, hitting .190 (11-for-58) with two homers and three RBI in his last 15 visits, while going
1 for 20 in the past five.
No heat in the desert for

Ike Davis, who is just
7-for-39 (.179) with two homers and six RBI in 12 career meetings with the Diamondbacks.